What can I use to keep greenhouse warm passively
ange2006
10 years ago
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steve333_gw
10 years agolast modified: 9 years agoange2006
10 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
Need Help Keeping Greenhouse Warm
Comments (8)Thirsty_Dirt - Welcome to my world !!! Zone 3 - that is. Light bulbs (many) will work in the early spring when the plants are small - with a frost blanket over a protection cage so it doesn't touch the plants or the light bulbs - but that isn't practical this time of year! We have found the least expensive method is to run a couple of ceiling fans 24/7 to keep the warm air down in the GH and put a space heater or two on a timer. You will have to check the GH temp constant (a remote thermometer is great to track GH temps) to figure out when to run your space heater - we try to keep our GH above 40 degrees minimum. Our GH is sealed but we have to supplement a space heater when outside temps get below 32 degrees (depending how many hours the temp is below 32 degrees) - but have the heater come on at midnight - 3:00 am and go off at 7:00 or 8:00 am this time of year. We only supplement the GH until we get the produce from the plants we want - then shut the GH down for the winter (usually the end of October). We have not had to supplement heat yet - which is unusual for this time of year - we still haven't had our first fall frost!! We have not found an affordable method (although Cole_Robbie's wood burning stove appears to be a great option) to heat the GH from November-March. Please let us know if you come up with one!...See Moresupplementary lighting for passive solar greenhouse
Comments (17)Mike, in my post I said I did not use my lights to 'grow' plants, I said I use them to provide 'short night' response in my photoperiodic plants to postpone their bloom times. For that, I don't need 2K foot candles, I need 20 foot candles. For the purposes of determining the quantity of light your plant is actually getting you can't just spit out the wattage or lumen rating output of a bulb as rated on its package. For instance, a hundred watt, unshielded incandescent bulb, ten foot away from an object will only provide about 1.5 foot candles as measured at that objects surface. That isn't much, is it? So, you can't just say a lamp has X lumens and have that mean much of anything. That's the potential output of the bulb. What you are interested in are the readings at leaf level, measured in lux or light density and that is going to vary greatly depending on how far away the light source is, what design the reflectors are, angles, intensity at various points of the cone of the beam. Yadayadayada. And if you think you are actually doing much trying to supplement the natural light by hanging a few shop lamps from an overhead beam in a greenhouse with a flourescent tube in them............well, it's not going to hurt anything, but it probably has negligible actual benefit to the plant. So, if you are really needing to provide lighting by which a plant will actually grow.........then your supplemental growing light has to be quite close to the plant, or the output has to be considerably higher than you think if mounted from overhead beams. The only way to really tell is to meter it out at various points in a greenhouse. That's why I suggested the poster find out what intensity of illumination leafy veggies really take. If she/he can make do with natural light, it would save a lot of money, and I suspect they'll grow just fine without supplementation. That's why in all but special circumstances where high light levels are absolutely necessary for producing certain plants in a winter setting, most growers do not go the expense of installing supplemental lighting. It's expensive to install and it's expensive to run, unless you are just interested in starting a few seedlings or a very limited collection of conservatory plants....See MoreGreenhouse addition for growing food and passive solar
Comments (9)Well I hope to some day enclose half of the front porch. I will need to figure a way for cooling. There is no way to plant in front as we are too close to the street. I would like to enclose the right side of the porch, as you face our house, which would cover the front door opening into between our dinning room living room space. This would make an air space in winter to help keep cold air blasting into the house when we enter. Leave the other side open for a landing on raining or snowing days while standing at the door letting us in. Would also create that sunny winter spot you are trying to create at your house for us. :^))). I need to find some sun blocking or heat stopping kind of shades for windows before I even consider enclosing this end. Maybe special insulation in the walls too. It is a project down the road. We always considered when we had the porch built on the house to begin with. Since it is all on a regular foundation like the house and actually is part of the house we just need to close it in. There are no permits needed unless we decide to do some special electrical. There is already a plug and a light. So a some day project. I know I would use it as I am using it now in the evenings. Here is a link that might be useful: Re-Arranged the front porch....See MoreCan I use plants to keep insects out out of my greenhouse?
Comments (3)Jungle, you've just been lucky with the basil. Just going by my memory, here is a list of pests known to cause problems for basil plants: aphids, whitefly, four-lined plant bug, leaf miners, leaf hoppers, flea beetles, Japanese beetles, and thrips! Interestingly, I don't think a week goes by in the Herb Forum without a plea for help with basil pests. I don't know of any plant that repels pest insects from the garden. I will suggest that you investigate Surround, a kaolin clay product that when sprayed on stems, foliage, fruits, and veggies prevent many chewing and sucking pests from doing damage. I've had great luck with it in my garden; it's recommended for greenhouse use, too....See Moremckenziek
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